Mediagazer: How can SPJ remain relevant in the Internet age? (Joshua Benton/Nieman Journalism Lab)

1:25 PM ET, October 25, 2010

Top News:

Against Odds, Web Site Finds Niche — Something odd showed up last week in the mailbox of Choire Sicha, a veteran blogger who lost his job and started a Web site with a few pals two years ago: a paycheck. — In September 2008, Mr. Sicha, Alex Balk and David Cho all found themselves laid off from Radar …

Discussion: Common Sense Journalism, New York Observer, AdPulp and The Hairpin

Steve Fishman / New York Magazine:

Newsboy — Looking for one last turn in the spotlight, 92 year old Sidney Harman paid his dollar for Newsweek. And Tina Brown was all set to dance. So why did it fall apart? — Tina Brown has always had a thing for older men—years ago, she'd married one.

Discussion: Gawker and Romenesko

Jay Rosen / Pressthink:

NPR News Analyst: How Juan Williams Got Fired — “The term ‘analysis,’ as NPR is using it here, means something so obscure, tendentious and peculiar to the culture of professional journalism that the vacuous and tautological statements I've quoted are probably the network's better option.”

Discussion: The Politico, The Atlantic Online, New York Post, WBUR and NPR, Romenesko, Free Press, The Daily Caller and main page collection

Farai Chideya / The Huffington Post:
What Everyone Is Missing About NPR's WilliamsGate

Discussion: Free Press

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Pitching Movies or Filming Shows, Hollywood Is Hooked on iPads — Last month at a meeting in Hollywood, it was time to plot out the sequel to “Star Trek,” last year's blockbuster reboot of the sci-fi franchise. — The attendees all brought smartphones — gadgets far more powerful …

Discussion: Poynter Online and SAI

Noam Cohen / New York Times:

Blurring the Line Between Apps and Books — STEPHEN ELLIOTT, a 38-year-old from San Francisco, just introduced his first piece of software for sale: an app for the iPad and iPhone called “The Adderall Diaries.” — He's not exactly a programmer — better to call him a writer.

Discussion: New York Observer

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

PBS Making Digital Push With New Website, iPad Application … PBS is beta-launching Monday a new website at PBS.org, which will offer local content from member stations alongside national content and offer auto-localization features. — The public broadcaster also is launching PBS for iPad …

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, more at Techmeme »

Jon Orlin / TechCrunch:

Internet TV and The Death of Cable TV, really — Yes, you heard this before. The Death of Cable TV. Yet, it hasn't happened. But now, so many disruptions are happening in the video space, cable tv is really stepping towards the cliff. Don't expect the cable industry to just give up.

Discussion: Online Video News

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

How can SPJ remain relevant in the Internet age? — The Society of Professional Journalists is America's oldest and largest journalism organization — which means that, like nearly every other journalism organization these days, its traditional role is under significant pressure to adapt to the new journalism reality.

Discussion: Net Worked

Kevin Shalvey / Flood Magazine:

The New Yorker has a Paywall Problem, Part 2 — Comments left throughout The New Yorker's JavaScript code include an email address of a faculty member at Lehman College. — Eleven years ago, when Jon Lech Johansen was a 15-year-old kid in Norway, he sat at his computer and banged out code …

John Koblin / WWD:

Style.com Moves to Fairchild Group — NEW YORK —The Condé Nast Web site Style.com is becoming part of Fairchild Fashion Group, effective immediately. The editorial team at Style.com, including editor Dirk Standen, will now report to Fairchild editorial director Peter Kaplan.

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

WSJ Doesn't Buy Into Amazon's ‘Buy Once, Read Everywhere’ Plans — Earlier this month, I told an Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) VP the aspect that bothered me most as a Kindle user was the inability to access my subscriptions across the e-reader platform. Amazon execs are among the best I've ever seen …

Discussion: Poynter Online

Max Read / Gawker:

State's Biggest Paper Refuses to Print (Legal) Gay Marriage Announcements — The Manchester Union Leader, the biggest paper in New Hampshire, is refusing to run notices for gay weddings. Even though gay marriage is legal in New Hampshire. I guess they're hoping if they ignore it, gay marriage will go away?

Discussion: WMUR

Wall Street Journal:

Political Ads Inundate Media Markets — Rates Soar Fivefold in Cities With Tight Races, Like Syracuse and Seattle, Prompting Candidates to Find Creative Solutions — U.S. political candidates have amassed more advertising cash this year than ever before. The hard part is finding places to spend it.

Chad Catacchio / The Next Web:

Will Instapaper and other “read it later” services change the way online content is written? [TNW Media] — Perhaps it's the iPad or the large screens on smartphones. Maybe it's the increasing attractiveness of reasonably-priced ebook readers. It could just be that the constant river …

Discussion: mediabistro.com